A large area (74 hectares) of Chat Moss, the precious lowland peatland in Greater Manchester, has been saved from destruction thanks to its removal from a development scheme that had threatened to build a giant housing estate in the area. The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside had raised several objections to the plan and is delighted that this area of the peatland habitat has been saved.

The planning application was part of Greater Manchester’s Places for Everyone scheme to create jobs, housing and sustainable growth across nine districts of Greater Manchester. This included an application to build over 800 houses on an area of the Chat Moss peatlands known as ‘North of Irlam Station’ and situated between New Moss Road and Astley Road in the Irlam/Cadishead area of Salford. The area was designated Green Belt land.

Representatives from across the Wildlife Trust had worked together to lodge a number of formal objections to this plan, including attending in person hearings and providing extensive written evidence. This was largely based around the importance of our peatlands in tackling both our climate and nature crises.

We’re delighted to announce that the planning application was removed after the Planning Inspectorate ruled that the delivery of new homes on the site would not outweigh the harm caused by “the loss or deterioration of an irreplaceable habitat”. 

As we know peatlands are a vital natural resource in tackling the climate emergency as when they are healthy, they absorb and store huge amounts of carbon. They are also an important habitat for a wide range of often rare and specialised wildlife.

What happens next?

Currently much of the land that has been saved from development is farmland, which was created by draining the naturally wet peatlands and adding fertilisers to improve the peaty soils. As it stands this is not an ideal situation for our peatlands, as once the water is drained from a peatland the carbon that is stored in the peat oxidises and is released into the atmosphere as CO₂.

In fact, it is believed that the drained peat on Chat Moss is currently emitting more carbon that can be absorbed by all of Greater Manchester’s 11 million trees.

We would love to see the saved land either restored to its original state of carbon capturing, biodiversity boosting, flood fighting, lowland raised peat bog, or alternatively wetter farming options could be explored to help reduce carbon emissions from the land whilst retaining its ability to produce a financially viable crop.

As part of the England Peat Action Plan, the government has committed to restoring 35,000 hectares of peatland by 2025, which is just the start of their ambition for peatland restoration to 2050 and beyond. We are also working with carbon compensation schemes such as the Peatland Code and Wilder Carbon which could allow public investment into peatland restoration to compensate for unavoidable carbon emissions.

There is also significant interest in wetter farming schemes, which would allow the land to remain under agriculture but with a higher water table, helping to reduce harmful carbon emissions. We are currently trialling crops such as celery, blueberries and bulrushes just a stone’s throw away from the land that has been saved.

Is all of our peat safe?

Unfortunately not. Whilst we welcome the removal of the North of Irlam Station allocation, a number of other peatland areas in Greater Manchester have had permission to develop them granted. This includes the Port of Salford Extension, Ashton Moss West and New Carrington, totalling 1,319 hectares of peat which will be lost.

We will continue to work to protect our peatlands and all of our precious habitats, working with landowners and seeking funding to help make a real difference. You can be part of this by supporting our campaigns or becoming a member today.

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